Protecting and Growing Self and Wealth in These Uncertain Times

Active Response Training

I know I’ve been blogging a lot lately about the subject of terrorism, but before I switch gears and tackle other topics I thought readers might like to know about a good jumping-off point for useful information about surviving a terrorist attack.

Back on November 18, 2015, Greg Ellifritz, President and Primary Instructor of Ohio-based Active Response Training, penned an article (portal, really) entitled “The Six Best Resources for Surviving a Terrorist Attack.” This was compiled two days after the carnage carried out by jihadists in Paris that claimed the lives of 130 people (with another 413 injured). The Ohio law enforcement officer wrote:

Since the multi-pronged terrorist attack on Paris last Friday, lots of experts have written articles about how to survive such an event. Some are great. Others are worthless.

I’ve been reading everything I can find about the attacks… Here are the best articles I’ve found on the topic (in no particular order). All are worth a read.

(Editor’s note: Bold added for emphasis)

“All are worth a read.”

They pretty much are, considering the material comes from “some of the smartest, most seasoned and dangerous dudes in the world.” The articles included:

“A truck-driving terrorist carved a mile-long path of carnage through lower Manhattan, killing eight innocents Tuesday as he plowed down helpless victims on a bike path. The rented white pickup hopped the curb at W. Houston with ISIS-inspired suspect Sayfullo Saipov drawing a bead on bicyclists as screams filled the Halloween skies and blood stained the pavement…”

–New York Daily News website, November 1, 2017

Continuing on the topic of vehicles from last night night, have any readers thought about how you might try to survive a vehicle terror attack like the one that took place in New York City earlier this week? A legitimate concern, I think, for those who live/work in and visit the “big city” (not saying “Main Street” couldn’t be in the bad guys’ crosshairs too). Consider the following from Alex Nowrasteh on the Cato Institute’s blog Halloween evening:

Vehicle attacks are not the norm in the United States where firearms are more readily available, but they are rising in frequency, as we saw in Charlottesville earlier this year. ISIS recently encouraged its followers to use trucks in lone wolf terrorist attacks and Saipov allegedly left a note declaring allegiance to that wannabe-Caliphate.

RAND Corporation terrorism expert Brian Michael Jenkins remarked that airplane hijackings were the norm for 1970s terrorist attacks while suicide bombers were the norm for the 1980s. Today, vehicle attacks are increasingly common around the world. Jenkins identified approximately 40 vehicle attacks around the world from 2000 through 2016 that resulted in 167 deaths, approximately four per attack. That total also includes the terrorists who died carrying them out…

(Editor’s note: Bold added for emphasis)

As vehicular terrorism shouldn’t be taken lightly, I scoured the Internet for strategies to avoid falling victim to such violence. Three articles grabbed my attention:

While there’s some overlap, each piece brings different yet complimentary ideas to the table. I’m thinking a decent plan to counter the car or truck terror attack could be developed from these resources. But that’s something readers can decide for themselves.

One podcast I listen to on a regular basis is Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk. The weekly show is hosted by nationally-known firearms expert and television host Tom Gresham. It’s so good I designated it as the “Resource Of The Week” back on July 15, 2011.

The other day, I finally got around to listening to the first hour of his Sunday, May 20, broadcast, where Gresham had Ohio-based Active Response Training President and Primary Instructor Greg Ellifritz on as a guest.

What Ellifritz shared with Gun Talk listeners regarding the stopping power of various defensive handgun rounds and calibers was quite revealing.

Perhaps even shocking to some.

You see, the veteran law enforcement officer (16 years on the job) has been interested in firearm stopping power for a long time. So much so that he’s amassed quite a bit of data on this over the years. Ellifritz wrote on the Active Response Training website back on March 18:

Over a 10-year period, I kept track of stopping power results from every shooting I could find. I talked to the participants of gunfights, read police reports, attended autopsies, and scoured the newspapers, magazines, and Internet for any reliable accounts of what happened to the human body when it was shot.

I documented all of the data I could; tracking caliber, type of bullet (if known), where the bullet hit and whether or not the person was incapacitated. I also tracked fatalities, noting which bullets were more likely to kill and which were not. It was an exhaustive project, but I’m glad I did it and I’m happy to report the results of my study here.

I’m glad he did it too- and happy he’s shared his findings with the rest of us.

Because after analyzing nearly 1,800 shootings, Ellifritz found that while the stopping ability of rifle/shotguns was generally superior to handguns (probably not much of a surprise to many firearm enthusiasts), “there really isn’t that much difference between most defensive handgun rounds and calibers.”

Yes, that even includes .22s.

You can read this entire insightful study on the Active Response Training website here.